Hi, I hope everybody is well.
As the title says, I'm new to CPAP therapy and was only diagnosed a few days ago - AHI 19. The whole thing still feels very alien to me and am struggling to accept I have to be on CPAP therapy for the rest of my life (46 years old), its very daunting. Any advise what so ever would really be appreciated.
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Welcome to the forum and what you are feeling is a normal reaction to accepting that for most of us CPAP is for the rest of our lives. Hopefully though, once you start to actually 'feel' the benefits of good CPAP therapy you'll get to the stage that a lot of us do, in that we just accept it as part of our lives, knowing the alternative is far worse. For me personally, I count myself very lucky that my severe sleep apnoea was picked up as my Mum wasn't so lucky and died at the young age of 49 through no treatment However, it still did take time to accept this and also the fact that I hadn't got diagnosed much earlier, bearing in mind I can trace back my symptoms to childhood. Hindsight eh? Have a read of the article I wrote on acceptance http://www.sleepapnoeablog.com/is-cpap-a-blessing-or-a-curse/ and do let us know if you're having any struggles with CPAP in these early days.
Thanks Kath, really appreciate the time you have taken to reply.
I received the DreamWare Nasal Pillow from you yesterday and have to say what a huge difference it makes.....After a couple of minutes It felt like I had nothing on my face - What a relief.
Think I need to order some cleaning wipes and a large dose of man up and get on with it.!
Great to hear you're finding the DreamWear better, and that's exactly how I described it when I tried it "as if I had nothing on my face." Sadly it's not possible for me to nasal breathe all night or it would be my No 1 choice of mask. Fortunately, the new Amara View works well for me though
You will 'man up' as time goes on and you start to feel better, and unlike 'man flu' many women also take time to come to terms with wearing a mask for the rest of their lives when sleeping, so pat yourself on the back and be proud that at least you're doing the most sensible and positive thing in working towards protecting your health!
Hi Kath and once again thank for the response.
I am happy to report I have now manned up and am extremely happy with the early results. I feel different and find it difficult to explain. I have no "Brain Fog" its as if I have been wearing a crash helmet for all these years and have now taken it off. Does that make any sense. Sleeping nearly all through the night, love my mask and feeling really wide awake during the day. I would even go as far to say life changing. Thanks again x
Great to hear you're getting on well, I started five years ago, when I was 38. CPAP has absolutely changed my life from the constant fog and battle to stay awake to the point that I've now over-done it and need to reign in the amount I work for the sake of m
Ha Ha cAtleY, glad to hear you've 'manned up' although we would have been understanding if you hadn't yet It's great news you're feeling the benefits and your description of 'brain fog' is very common. Many people even get to think that it's 'normal' to feel like that - same with the daytime tiredness, as it often creeps upon us so gradually. When something comes along that's life changing like that, there's no way you'll be sat feeling sorry for yourself, as you've lots of time to make up with your renewed energy. So pleased for you
cAtLeYx said:
Hi Kath and once again thank for the response.
I am happy to report I have now manned up and am extremely happy with the early results. I feel different and find it difficult to explain. I have no "Brain Fog" its as if I have been wearing a crash helmet for all these years and have now taken it off. Does that make any sense. Sleeping nearly all through the night, love my mask and feeling really wide awake during the day. I would even go as far to say life changing. Thanks again x
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